A new demonstration biomass gasifier in Burlington, Vermont, is a major advance toward biopower systems of the 21st century. The purpose of the project is to verify design and operating characteristics of this gasification technology at an intermediate size. The Vermont gasifier is rated at 200 tons of biomass per day. The demonstration will allow further scale-up to a first-of-its-kind commercial gasifier to be demonstrated in the future at an industrial or utility scale.

Energy crops for electrical production are being given a boost by the Salix Consortium, an association of 20 corporations and industrial, government, farming, and research organizations. The consortium supports commercial development of willows for generating electricity, which are being grown for utilities across the Northeast region of the U.S. for use in cofiring with coal in existing power plants.